Philips, the global player in lighting, has won two major separate LED solar street lighting contracts for Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) and Manipur Renewable Energy Development Agency (MANIREDA). The tender process involved meeting the exacting requirements of both UPNEDA and MANIREDA with a strong focus on energy conversion based on new and renewable energy sources. The two projects will provide more than 76,000 solar LED street lights across 800 villages in UP and across the main areas of the state capital as well as small towns and villages of Manipur.

Commenting on the business wins, Harsh Chitale, CEO, Philips Lighting, South Asia, said, “We are thrilled to have won these projects and they serve to be a testimony of Philips’ R&D capabilities and undisputed product quality. We hope that by the end of this project, solar LED lighting can be recognised and applied more widely to help eradicate light poverty. Such model projects go a long way in raising awareness of the power of lighting technologies in solving global challenges in energy, education, agriculture, public infrastructure and health.”
Through the installations, NEDA, the nodal agency of Uttar Pradesh is required to light up the villages in two phases under Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya Samagra Gram and Janeswar Mishra Gram Yojana, a government funded scheme monitored by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Chitale added, “India today has close to 300 million people who have no access to electricity and they have to depend on wood fire or kerosene for their lighting needs. Through solutions such as solar lighting, we believe that we will be able to bring far less expensive, healthier and environmentally friendly lighting to this large population. This solar mission driven jointly by the government and the private sector can really help in taking the Prakash Path initiative to all of rural India, where electricity is unavailable or erratic.” Philips’ solution in Uttar Pradesh is an industry first – a 12W, 1200 lumen LED luminaire with IP66, high efficiency pulse width modulation (PWM) charger of more than 96 per cent efficiency and integrated LED driver, offering a 5 year manufacturing warranty. This translates into a more reliable solution for harsh, rural conditions such as extreme temperature or exposure to water and dust, than the previous lighting system.

The nodal agency of Manipur, MANIREDA required installation of 1,400 43W solar street lighting systems in the main areas of state capital as well as small towns and villages, where the main challenge was logistical i.e. executing the project in a hilly terrain. For MANIREDA, Philips is providing the 43W, 3500 lumen solar LED street lighting system. The system is customised as it involves battery mounting on a pole, capable of withstanding strong winds. It also incorporates a state-of-the-art maximum power point charging (MPPT) charge controller, which delivers high efficiency battery charging even under dynamic weather conditions.